Google reviews: how to get them, reply to them and what's banned

Why they matter so much

Google says in its help pages that reviews, their number and their rating, are part of what it considers when deciding which businesses to show in local searches. They aren't the only factor (distance and how well your profile matches the search weigh heavily), but between two similar businesses at the same distance, the one with more recent, good reviews usually has the edge.

The most direct effect, though, is on the customer's decision. Someone comparing three listings reads the average rating, the number of reviews and the two or three most recent ones, and notices how the business replies to bad ones. A profile with 4.6 and forty recent reviews inspires more trust than one with 5.0 and three reviews from two years ago.

So the goal isn't a perfect score but a steady flow of real reviews and careful replies. A 5.0 rating with many reviews even makes some customers suspicious; a few four-star reviews and the odd bad one with a good reply make the profile more credible.

How to ask: link, QR code and timing

Google offers a direct link and a QR code for requesting reviews. From your Business Profile, go to “Read reviews”, select “Get more reviews” and use the share icon: you can copy the link or download the QR image. According to Google's help, the QR code can only be generated from a computer browser, not from a phone. Customers need a Google account to leave a review.

The link opens the write-a-review window directly, without the customer having to search for your business. That's what increases reviews the most: removing steps.

Timing matters as much as the channel. Ask for the review when the customer has just seen that the job went well: when they pick up the car, at the end of the session, when you hand over the finished work, the day after a dinner. After a week, the intention fades.

• At the counter: a small sign with the QR code by the till or on the table.
• On the receipt or invoice: the short link or the printed QR code.
• By WhatsApp or email: a short message after the service, with the link.
• In the appointment confirmation or order delivered email.
• On your website: a “Leave us a review” button on the contact or thank-you page.

The line “if anything wasn't right, tell us” is fine as long as the Google link goes to everyone. What's forbidden is sending the link only to those who reply that they're happy.

What Google forbids

Google Maps' content policy requires every review to reflect a genuine experience and forbids any attempt to manipulate the rating. You may ask for reviews, as long as you offer nothing in return and don't try to influence the rating or content.

What the law says in Spain

On top of Google's rules, fake reviews are illegal. Directive (EU) 2019/2161, known as the Omnibus Directive, added posting or commissioning fake reviews to the EU list of unfair commercial practices. Spain transposed it through Royal Decree-law 24/2021, which amended Law 3/1991 on Unfair Competition and the consolidated General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users (TRLGDCU). These changes have applied since 28 May 2022.

This section summarises the law to help you find your way; it isn't legal advice. If you face a penalty or want to take action over fake reviews, talk to a lawyer.

How to reply to reviews

Replying is free, the author gets a notification and the reply is visible to everyone under the review. The real audience for your reply isn't the person who wrote the review but the next customer who reads it. Reply within a few days, with your name or the business's, and in the language the review was written in.

• Short: three or four sentences are enough.
• Specific: mention something from the review, so it doesn't look automatic.
• No copying and pasting the same reply everywhere.
• No arguing in public or accusing the customer of lying.
• No customer personal data, ever (see the next section).

If you solve the problem privately, you can ask the customer to update their review if they think it fair. Asking is allowed; offering something in exchange for changing it isn't.

Data protection: what you can't put in a reply

A reply to a review is a post open to anyone. If you reveal customer data in it, you are processing personal data without a legal basis and disclosing it, which conflicts with the General Data Protection Regulation and your duty of confidentiality. It is an infringement the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) can fine, especially if what you reveal is health data.

You don't have to go that far to get it wrong. In sensitive sectors (health, psychology, law, beauty, gyms) even confirming that someone is your customer can reveal something about their life. A generic reply inviting them to talk privately is better.

• Don't include the customer's surname, address, phone or email.
• Don't say what they bought, what treatment they had, how much they paid or what day they came.
• Don't post invoices, screenshots of conversations or photos of the customer.
• In health and personal services, neither confirm nor deny they are a customer: “For confidentiality reasons we can't comment on individual cases; please write to…”.
• If an employee replies, make sure they know these rules before getting access to the profile.

Reporting reviews that break the policy

You can't delete reviews from your profile. What you can do is report them so Google reviews them, and it only removes them if they break its policy. You report from your Business Profile (under “Read reviews”, the “Report” option next to the review) or from Google's review management tool, where you can also check the status of what you've reported. The assessment usually takes several days.

If the tool says there's no violation, you can submit a one-off appeal, selecting up to ten reviews at once. Google emails you the final decision.

Report each review for the reason that genuinely applies. Flagging them all as “spam” when they aren't undermines the credibility of your reports.

When a wave of fake reviews arrives

Sometimes several one-star reviews from accounts with no history arrive within a few days, often after a social media row, a dispute with a former employee or simply from a competitor. Google's policy forbids both reviews not based on a real experience and unusual volumes or patterns of activity, so this kind of attack is grounds for removal.

• Don't reply in the heat of the moment or accuse anyone publicly. If you reply, one neutral sentence: “We have no record of this visit; please write to… so we can look into it.”
• Take screenshots of each review with its date, account name and text. They'll help with the appeal and, if it comes to it, with a lawyer.
• Report each review separately through the review management tool, with the correct reason.
• If it isn't resolved within a few days, contact Business Profile support explaining the pattern (dates, new accounts, origin if you know it).
• Keep asking your real customers for reviews as usual: the normal flow dilutes the attack.
• If the reviews contain serious false accusations or come from an identifiable competitor, talk to a lawyer: there may be routes under unfair competition law or for infringement of the right to honour.

Never pay anyone who promises to “delete negative reviews”. Only Google can remove them, and those who claim otherwise usually rely on mass or false reports that can end up harming your profile.